people have been evacuated. many carrying nothing more than the clothes on their back. good morning, thanks for joining us. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm scott mcgrew in for sam brock. veteran firefighters say they've never seen a fire move so fast. this map shows how quickly things got out of control. it began with a structure fire saturday afternoon, but within hours the fire had exploded. now, the fire burning on multiple fronts, one arm reaching for sonoma county and the other headed for napa county. >> here's a look at the numbers. 50,000 acres have burned. one person has been killed, but we don't know who or how. four firefighters have been hurt and expects that number to jump in the hours ahead. we have team coverage of the fire, the evacuations and the fallout this morning. we'll begin with "today in the bay" stephanie chuang. >> the flames are gone from this

middleton neighborhood, but the smell of smoke is pretty heavy and ash flying around. we're expected to get an update from cal fire, although i just heard that progress overnight by firefighters was good. that's the good news. you can see in this neighborhood, some homes are still standing. many of them are not, as you can see here. just totally devastated. you can see just the foundation. you can see chairs and tables are what is left of them. we are expected to learn how many homes and businesses were destroyed. we're told it's likely to go from several hundred to hit 1,000. 1,500 firefighters meantime and support staff are attacking the valley fire fueled by the regular drought conditions and above all else, according to cal fire, the strong, gusty wind that lasts for hours at a time. a waiting game for many people who live here in middleton. they have no idea what their homes look like and not allowed to return until at least tomorrow. >> people in evacuation centers. we go and give them updates. they want to get home. they've been rudely uprooted

from their life and their lives and it's hard. >> cal fires air tankers were touch and go yesterday because of poor visibility with the heavy lingering smoke. and the nearby cal fire chopper base was undamaged although it's unknown just how much. cal fire putting together the new numbers in terms of acreage and containment. we hope those numbers are good and, again, expected to get them in this hour closer to 7:00. we'll keep you posted when we get those numbers. live here in middleton, stephanie chuang. >> all four firefighters injured while battling the fire are showing significant signs of improve lt. this is a picture of one of the victims. his crew visited him yesterday at uc davis medical center. many of the 10,000 plus people who were forced from their homes had to spend the night in tents. >> that's where we find "today in the bay" bob redell.

could be days before those people know whether they have a home to return to. >> scott and laura, that's what makes it so difficult being an evacuee. you have hundreds of people here at this one evacuation center. the red cross evacuation center set up at the napa county fairgrounds in caustoga. for these people their neighborhood are still closed to the general public, they can't go in there and take a look for themselves. you can see the images of her right here. we just spoke with her. she had to evacuate from her homes in anderson springs on saturday and had enough time to grab some clothes and her cat and headed to a friend's house in middleton. we heard about middleton. was then evacuated from there and you can see what happened to middleton with the destruction there. basically, she's trying to find out what happened to her home in anderson springs. all she had is to rely on is rumors. >> not hopeful? dwl d >> no, i'm not. >> you seemate peace? >> no, i'm not. i just got some coffee.

>> i'm really sorry. >> yes, thank you. we all are. it's not just about me. it's about all these people and, i mean, it's just -- in two to four days when they open the roads up and we go home to face the retality, that's going to b bitter. >> so, until then, people like her are relying on the red cross. we're showing you right now it is rows and upon rows of donations, clothes, water, dog food. we talked to the red cross and said, are you still looking for donations? they said, no. we've got more than enough that will last, out last this event. what they would like, if you can, donate cash, money. they can use that to help people get temporary homes in terms of rent while they wait for their homes to be rebuilt. reporting live here in caustoga, bob redell. >> people in the bay area are

very giving. popular resort in hot springs among the homes and businesses that was right in the middle of the path of that fire. it was evacuated yesterday as a rapidly moving fire made its way towards the 5,000 acre property outside middleton. many residents and staff gathered to wait for updates. >> had driven home and arriving in time to find that harben was being evacuated and he assist would the final evacuations getting all the guests out and then getting the last of us residents out. >> unconfirmed reports that it has been destroyed. it can be days before they can officially confirm what has or has not been destroyed. the impact of the fire stretches well beyond the fire lines. people across the bay area have been seeing and smelling smoke from the valley fire and other fires. in fact, ash and smoke have been

spotted from marin to santa clara county. air quality officials urge anyone with breathing difficulties to limit their time outdoor physical they see or smell smoke. >> ash was discovered as far south as san jose yesterday. >> it was covering my car. >> that's right. wow, big problem for people. let's get more on the smoke, the weather conditions and the firelines. what firefighters are dealing with and if they could have any help today, kari, would be great. >> a little bit of help in the way of humidity today and little bit of light rain and drizzle. but our winds have shifted direction and that means that the fire could change direction. and now we have more of a southerly to southwesterly wind. good news, though, for the bay area. it will carry the smoke away from us and towards the central valley and farther to the north, some of the ash, as well. as we look at the atmosphere at every level. 500 feet and winds coming in from the southwest and it improves our air quality, but, of course, once again, it makes things difficult for those firefighters trying to get some

containment on that fire when the winds are constantly shifting direction. higher humidity today in santa rosa and the humidity now at 97%. we have the low clouds and light, spotty rain and the chance of measurable rain as we go into the afternoon. here's a look at what the satellite and radar could show later on today. here we are at 4:00 this afternoon. we are starting to see some green popping up here. that means light rain. it continues off and on as we go throughout the day and clearing out later on today and throughout the day tomorrow and another round heading in towards wednesday. so, i'll detail that coming up in a few minutes. let's check in now with scott. >> these images frightening and haunting. homes that stood side by side now destroyed entire towns burned to the ground. these are a few of the images that have been posted to our website, nbcbayarea.com. people not only abandoning their homes and cars and all that is left here is a driveway. 1,000 firefighters from across the state pitching in to try to

help slow down that fast-moving wildfire. hundreds of structures have been lost in less than a couple of days. this is one that crews could not save. >> well, the fire could potentially leave thousands with little more than the clothes on their backs. if you would like to help the fire victims, the red cross is accepting donations online or if you're in sonoma or napa counties, bring donations to one of several dropoff stations. they are accepting cash, toil toiletries and blanket and clothing. includes the calistoga fairgrounds and it&b sports and the fountain grove inn. we'll continue to bring you the very latest on the valley fire as we get information. we have another live update coming up in about 30 minutes and expect an update from cal fire within the hour. our coverage continues online. of course, nbcbayarea.com and twitter and facebook. how about an update when it comes to your morning commute starting your monday. let's check it now with mike.

>> good morning, scott and laura. this is an inconvenience, but we still talk about it because it is inconvenient for folks including that traffic shot. we have it back, again. the bay bridge toll plaza. let's get to your maps and show you on the approach now. slow to fill in because a lot folks were held up on the upper east shore freeway. so you have more slowing but a typical morning commute there. southbound 880 down through hayward and some of the folks were held up extra time over in the tri-valley the crash leaves one rig and some crews on the shoulder. 680 seeing the brunt of that traffic heading down towards sanol. nothing dramatic. remember levi stadium going to be crowded. back to you. >> thank you, mike. still ahead, are you ready for some of that gridlock? niners preparing their monday night game in their new home. the city prepares for epic slow

do downs. coming up, we'll take a look at that plan to keep things moving and the countdown towards kickoff. happening today... ==scott/cu==

a former stanford swimmer could find out if he'll stand trial on rape charges. ==take vo== during his las happening today a former during his last court appearance, brock turner pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting an unconscious and intoxicated woman he had met on

an on-campus party but in a report by the santa claire. he faces up to ten years in prison if convicted. a san francisco man accused of attacking a zip car driver with a bicycle lock. he is expected to enter a plea in san francisco court today. it all happened during a critical mass bike ride last month in the marina district. the zip car was trying to inch past rider when the driver bumped his bike. as the woman drove away, authorities say he started yelling at the driver and be beating and the attack was recorded and posted online. santa clara already striking gold. that's what city leaders are saying after a new financial report showing levi stadium delivered to the city, $1 million beyond forecasted revenues during its first year. it's not just football paying the bills. it's other events including concerts and wrestle mania. it all amounts to nearly $3

million for santa clara's operating fund. >> from the report, it's these other things that the businesses that are making money now because on a sunday or a monday night, they didn't have that business. now they can actually bring in more revenue. >> and independent auditor will release a more detailed report on the stadium's finances coming up later this month. we can't forget 49ers kick things off tonight at levi stadium. expect traffic in that area, no doubt. >> not just on the roads but on the rails. >> we'll see how it goes. let's think positive. in the meantime, let's check our forecast. >> the forecast looks positive, too. especially with cooler temperatures and even a chance of rain in the forecast for today and then again on wednesday. as we take a live look this morning, things are looking busy on the bay bridge and we do have some clouds overhead. and a nice mild start to the day. come on over and take a look at this seven-day forecast at the bottom of the screen. we do see some raindrops in there and also some much cooler

temperatures than we had last week at this time. we start out at 59 degrees in the north bay and it is 61 degrees in the peninsula. today's highs will be in the 60s and 70s all across the bay and expect the chance of light rain in the east bay, as well as the north bay. a high of 75 degrees there and then the south bay today topping out at 78 degrees. our winds have shifted direction and now they're coming in from the southwest. we'll have winds picking up as we go through the morning. especially along the coast. look at half moon bay. at 8:00 in the morning, the winds are coming in up to 22 miles an hour. and the rest of us will have a breeze, too. throughout the afternoon and evening as it carries the smoke and the ash away from the bay area. we will have some improved air quality along with some cloudy skies and a little bit of rain. if you're heading out to levi stadium at 5:00, tailgating and 68 degrees by the start of the game and by 9:00, we're at 65 degrees and clear skies and clouds, too. temperatures have cooled off.

thanks to a trough that is bringing in more of a southwesterly wind and also the clouds and even a chance of rain. here's a look at what our computer models show as we head into wednesday. it shows some rain moving in, especially for the north bay. over the next 24 hours, we see the clouds, this is what the radar and clouds could look like. see green coming up here today at 2:00. that shows the showers that could be moving through the east bay and then some more rain moving through later on tonight as it clears out tomorrow we will have more sunshine and then another round moving in on wednesday. so, we'll keep you up to date on that. the rainfall estimate also looking much better as we are looking that possibility of some trace amounts of rain for the south bay and east bay. maybe a tenth of an inch for napa and then 0.03 as you head up towards santa rosa. the farther north you are, the more rain you'll likely get into the next couple of days. cool throughout the week and then warming up again this weekend. highs will be in the 80s and 90s, once again. so, take this in while we have it. it will be humid, it will be cooler and then looks like it

will be hot, turning back to summer heading into saturday and sunday. let's get a look at that morning commute now with mike. >> looking over towards dublin where we have a slower drive in general for west 580. heading towards the dublin interchange and look at your map. the speed sensors now in the orange zone throughout most of dublin. earlier crash at the interchange set things off and generally slow here, as well, of course, the big burst down through 680. a crash at the top of your screen for north 6780. in the south bay, here's what we're talking about. 49ers play tonight. we hear there is going to be a closure starting this morbing about 9:00. great america park and we'll have a lot of surface street traffic and 101. just plan on that traffic. remember the parking lots open at 3:00, may be traffic before 3:00 to try to get in for that tailgating and access into the area. right now the traffic flow just slows a little bit for 101

coming through santa clara. 880 in hayward and the peninsula off the side of the bay and no delays there. the bay bridge will talk about the toll plaza as you're approaching coin coming off of maze. some traffic in richmond held up because of earlier crashes. san rafael and southbound 101 no big issue right now. slow drive in nevada all the way to the golden gate bridge. sticking with the topic of traffic, you can expect big slow downs as san francisco prepares for the biggest tech conference in the world. streets around the masconi center shut down for the 150,000 attendies coming to dream force. event organizers even rented out a cruiseship to make sure everybody had a place to sleep. tim cook is venturing into a new realm. the world of late night television. he's appeared on news shows in the past, but this will be his first late-night debut. cook will appear tomorrow night on "late show" with stephen

colbert. likely make some new mention of the newest apple products including iphone 6s and a new apple tv and maybe the much aligned apple pencil. let's check back in now on that breaking news we have been following all weekend. the devastating fire burning across napa, lake and sonoma counties. more than 1,000 firefighters have been working around the clock to try to knock down what is now a deadly wildfire. right now, the valley fire is 0% contained. it's said to be burning towards the pope valley area and into the northern part of sonoma county. at least 400 homes and businesses have been destroyed. mostly lake county. cal fire have said they expect that number to jump. thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, but one family who lost everything returned to the smoke-filled streets of middleton to lend a hand. we'll have their story when "today in the bay" returns. let's get back to our breaking

news out of lake county ... =laura/vo= ... where an erratifi at 6:22. breaking news out of lake county where an erratic fire has killed one person and destroyed hundreds of homes. not told much about the victim

other than it was not a firefighter. right now 50,000 acres have burned and at least 10,000 people have been evacuated. a lot of these evacuees staying at the napa county fairgrounds where they have established a tent city. another evacuation center filled up so fast saturday night, they had to turn evacuees away. in the meantime, in the midst of the devastation, there is little good news coming out of middleton. firefighters say the schools were not among the hundreds of buildings burned as the fire ripped through the town. residents could return to their homes in middleton. right now at&t and verizon boost cell phone service in areas where the fire has knocked out towers. >> donation s specifically mone for supplies. social media has become a critical tool. many families lost pets in that fire. they turned to facebook pages set up to allow people to post

pictures of pets. victims of the fire missing cats, dog even horses. many who could not get to their homes before the fires started are posting pleas asking people in the area to rescue their pets and bring them to safety. in the midost of the devastation, we're also hearing some pretty incorrodible stories of neighbors helping neighbors. yesterday we met the harpers who tell us their home burned to the ground saturday night in middleton. one day later, they returned to open their hardware and grocery store. the family says they wanted to make sure the store was open for firefighters and anyone else who stayed behind because there is no running water in town. they say they plan to keep it open 24 hours a day. >> awesome. first time we've seen them open and first step to getting things back on track, i guess. >> sign of life for the town. >> yeah, for sure. >> the credit card machines weren't working, so the owners

are taking ious from people who just don't have cash. turning from the best of humanity to the worst. officials are warning there are already scams targeting the valley fire victims. we are told potential thieves are posing as news crews online. they are asking evacuees for their addresses. promising to check on their homes, but, instead, they go in and burglarize. the evacuated homes. deputies are patrolling the area in hopes of keeping out looters, but it is best not to give your address out to anyone online. 6:25. much more on the valley fire just ahead, including a look at what could be the single biggest issue firefighters face as they attempt to control the blaze. plus, how this fire could end up finding its way into tonight's football game at levi stadium.

devestating fires in lake county's history- and th it is one of the most devastating fires in lake county history and this morning it is still completely, entirely uncontained. the valley fire has taken at least one life and is now burning across parts of lake, napa and sonoma county. the word we keep hearing to describe this fire is apocaly

apocalyptic. the one firefighter on scene says that is even an understatement. >> look at how quickly the fire spread. this started saturday afternoon near the lake county town of cobb. less than 48 hours it had now scorched more than 50,000 acres, including entire neighborhoods in the city of middleton. >> those numbers make this the most devastating fire in california this season. little is being released about the one person who has been killed, except that the fire is being blamed for their death. four firefighters we know are recovering after being burned while battling the blaze and cal fire is already saying they expect the number of homes destroyed to jump well above the 400 they've already reported. >> we have live team coverage of the fire this morning. we begin with "today in the bay" stephanie xrrxchuang who is get a look at the devastation. >> we are right in the middle of someone's house here and we don't know who lives here or for

how long. it is pretty hard to take in. this is pretty much what you see all the way down jefferson court here in this neighborhood that has been devastated. the people who live in many of these houses have no idea what is left or what still stands. now, 1,500 firefighters are attacking the valley fire. fueled by the drought conditions, the heat and above all else the gusty winds. some lasting for hours on end this weekend. wind that is pushing the fire now in almost every direction mostly north, though, towards kelseyville. as for the people many who live in places like middleton are in the dark about what's left and they're not allowed back until at least tomorrow. >> behind me there's a swingset, for example. these are people's homes. these are people's lives that they left not knowing what they're going to come back to. >> cal fire helicopters and tankers were touch and go yesterday because of poor visibility with the heavy lingering smoke and that really has hampered the efforts as the fire continues to move in all directions.

i was told just about half an hour ago by cal fire that firefighters have made, "good progress" that is promising. we are expected to get to the latest figures any moment now and we'll keep you posted as we get them. live in middleton, stephanie chuang. >> the four firefighters injured on saturday showing signs of improvement. this is the picture of one of the victims, his crew visited him yesterday at uc davis medical center. the other three injured firefighters showing significant improvement. all suffered second degree burns while fighting the fire. created a tent city at the fairgrounds and many of them have no where else to go. >> bob redell is in caulstoga. >> some do and some don't. that's part of the frustration. for a lot of the people. 10,000 people who have been evacuated by the valley fire evacuation centers. one of them here at the napa

coun county fairgrounds. several hundred people have come to just this one location alone, including sterling sayer and his wife, julia, who heard from a pg&e worker that their home in hidden valley was destroyed saturday and they were at a work event. it was dumb luck that she insisted that her husband, sterling, bring his rv to that event. they do have that and living in their rv at the napa county fairgrounds. but the photos and kids' artwork and the ashes of sterling's previous wife are all gone. >> we have nothing any more. but we have each other. and, you know, what else can we ask for? you got to look at things in a different light. you lose things in life. the things that are going to be hard. the pictures and the kids' things that they did for us. but, we have each other.

>> as the valley fire still burns uncontrolled, it's going to be at least another day or two before they are able to return to their neighborhood to see whether or not their house is still standing. reporting live here, bob redell, "today in the bay." even if you are far away, winds carried ash from the fires across the bay. traveling at least 100 miles. here you see ash on the cars in san jose. >> you know it is only going to get worse, unfortunately. hope to get new numbers from firefighters coming up at 7:00. right now that smoke is really lingering. moving south through the bay area, kari. >> an improvement in air quality today and won't see as much smoke and ash as we had yesterday. yesterday morning at this time the winds were coming in from the north and that blew all of that across the bay area. well, now, we have a southerly wind that will bring that smoke and ash to the central valley and farther to the north. as we look at every level of the

atmosphere, today we have more of a southwesterly wind and, once again, that improves our air quality here but may cause the fire to shift in direction. and that may cause some more problems for those firefighters. we do have high levels of humidity this morning. that may help, too, along with low clouds and light, spotty drizzle and mist. and we will have a chance of some measurable rain as we go through the day. here we are as the futurecast shows later on this afternoon some more green here on the map showing some rain that may be just enough to really not cause a lot of measurement, but enough to bring in some at least some relatively higher humidity and some conditions that will be much more favorable than the dry weather we've had recently. we'll keep an eye out on this and the rain chances for not only today, but wednesday, as well. i'll talk about that coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you very much, kari. 6:34. a popular resort and hot springs among the homes and businesses right in the path of the devastating fire. harvin hot springs resort was

evacuated early yesterday morning as a rapidly moving fire made its way towards the 5,000 acre property outside middleton. many residents and staff gathered at the caulistoga center to wait for updates. >> pie mamy partner, peter, droe arriving in time to find out it was being evacuated. getting all the guests out and then finally getting the last of us residents out. >> there are unconfirmed reports this morning that the hot springs resort has been destroyed. cal fire says it could be days before they could officially confirm what has or has not been destroyed. the valley fire is not the first wildfire to strike this particular area of lake county this year. it is, in fact, the third in two months. part of the valley's fire burn area is just a couple of miles from the jerusalem fire. you can see it here on this map. that fire started at the beginning of august and burned for three weeks. the flames ripped through 25,000

acres of land and burned six homes. also the monstrous rocky fire, as well. this one started at the end of july. by the time it was over, 70,000 acres and 43 homes had been destroyed. now, the valley fire not the only large wildfire burning in california. laura, you have more detail. >> a better illustration where exactly these fires are across northern and central california. this map gives you a rough idea. let's start out, literally, with the rough fire. this one had been burning since july, end of july. southeast of fresno. it is the 17th largest fire in california history. it's about 130,000 acres only 31% contained and they had been fighting that one for quite some time. we just got updated numbers i wanted to share with you on the bute fire. this one is southeast of sacramento area. these are the new numbers we're talking about right here. 71,000 acres now that this fire has engulfed and only 30%

contained. so, even less than the rough fire. the valley fire is the big one that we've seen. just a rough, it is a monster fire engulfing 50,000 acres so far. and it is 0% contained. making a really, really tough fight for firefighters in this area. all the people that have had to evacuate it don't even know if they have homes or anything to come back to, scott. >> all right, lara, the fire could potentially leave thousands with more than a little more than the clothes on their back. if you would like to help these victims, the red cross saying the best way to do it is to donate just pure cash. in sonoma and napa counties, you can bring your donations to one of several dropoff stations. they are accepting cash. they will also accept toiletries, food, tents, blankets and clothing. it is clear people are answering the call because as our own bob redell noted, one of the dropoff locations the clothing and canned food donations have been so overwhelming, they stopped

taking new donations of stuff. you can still bring cash and you can bring food and clothing to other locations, including t&b sports and fountain grove inn and the napa bistro in napa. now, just a few moments ago we updated you on the valley fire. we're putting it on the web for you, as well. 61,000 acres, 5% contained. again, the valley fire. you can get any updates you need on the web or on our nbc bay area app. >> those numbers literally just coming in from 0% containment to 5%. it's gradual. just a little. >> we're now at 61,000. >> compared to the 50,000. you know, it just started on saturday afternoon about 1:00 p.m. and it's just been massive as a monster. >> hard to imagine. let us get you off to work on time and let's check in with mike inouye.

>> a smoother drive right now across the bay bridge westbound. a stall inside at treasure island tunnel and pickup truck now cleared from the roadway from what i can tell. speed sensors on the map. a slower drive down through richmond and another crash around cutting boulevard and also clear to the roadway. this has been a tougher morning. still the upper east shore not so bad. north bay a smooth drive there. remember highway 29 and related freeways because of the valley fire. they will have closures through the area. watch there the redirection. over here northbound 101 coming up towards millbrae avenue, a crash. now we have an overturned vehicle there at the scene and we have 92 slow on 101 slow from 92 in towards sfo. much clearer heading up the peninsula as is always the case. a slower build for west 92 across the san mateo bridge. and had south bay a gradual build for all your highways and tri-valley slowing, as well. look at northbound 101 and our camera does show the volume starting to build here and your

typical spots flout the silicone valley. back to you. coincidence or collaboration. drones stolen from a store in santa clara. how the staff could be tied to other burglaries in other states. let's take a live look outside overlooking the beautiful bay bridge this morning. mild temperatures greeting us this week. we'll check the forecast coming up.

new this morning - =laura/vo= an overnight burglary in santa clara has some asking if 6:42. new this morning an overnight burglary in santa clara has some asking if something is bigger is going on. last night, someone stole several drones from the city's drone's plus store. drone's plus is one of the biggest sellers of unmanned aircraft in the nation. surveillance video provided by the store appears to show two men breaking in through a front window and then taking off with several drones. this is the third burglary of a drones plus store since the end of august. a smash and grab video in vancouver yesterday. a similar burglary took place at one of the city's los angeles stores in late august. police say they're trying to determine if the burglaries are connected. san francisco this week bracing for an industry bash like no other. dream force. record numbers of people expected to show up for this year's one of a kind cloud

computing fest. salesforce.com playing the most. 150,000 people expected to attend. some events today and dream force kicks off tomorrow and expect a lot of traffic. 49er football kicks off, as well. the 49ers not the only ones getting ready for the big game tonight. a plan they hope will make for a better traffic experience for fans headed to the stadium. >> tod"today in the bay" kris sanchez live with how they hope to ease the commute. what's the plan? >> the plan is to make sure everybody knows where they are going. you can hear. hind us some of the folks arriving and dropping off scaffolding and orange cones that will be used to shut down tasmon road in about an hour and a half or so. certainly we've seen inside staff working, as well. but the question really is, will the traffic going to work? fans are ready for the real season action and certainly the

nfl nation will be watching this matchup because they are rooting for the 49ers or the vikings but because this is the first time they will see the stadium for the first time on monday night football. they want to know if the stadium authority changed things up enough to get the local fans in and out more quickly. you might recall that very first game at levi when it took fans hours to get out of the parking lot and tempers were flaring and people making questionable driving maneuvers to get out. more exit lanes and clearer signage for drivers heading out of the parking lot. with this later start, kickoff at 7:30 may be helpful, as well. advice from police and the 49ers. they say use public transportation if at all possible. if you drive, don't use your gps. it will not account for the traffic flow plan that is in place. tasman drive will shut down in a couple of hours and stay closed for 13 hours. and do not park in the

residential neighborhoods. remember that lots open at 3:00. ticket holders can get into the stadium at 5:00. but, i tell you, my photographer alan and i were saying a lot more activity out here this morning than we expected. a lot of folks arriving for work early. we can smell some of the cooking happening inside. but hopefully all of the cooking will be inside and not out on the roadways. in santa clara, kris sanchez. >> getting an early start at tailgating, apparently. kris sanchez, thanks. talk about weather and traffic, they'll add more vta trains. but one thing that does is slow down the cars trying to get out. >> exactly. >> it will be an adjustment. >> if you're not going to the game, clear out of that area early. weather will cooperate. a little cooler. >> much cooler. last week it was in the 90s and over 100 degrees. we don't have to worry about that today as we may get a little bit of rain in parts of the bay area. live look from at&t park looking towards san francisco. you see the clouds and we don't have much in the way of any fog

right now. but also some mist and drizzle starting out this morning with temperatures right around 60 degrees all across the bay area. and we will have highs today in the 60s and 70s. some light rain responsible. especially in the east bay and north bay. and the breezy wind, too, especially near the coast. our winds have shifted direction or wind now coming in from the southwest. and that will carry some of that smoke and the ash that is happening in the north bay away from the bay area and more towards the central valley and farther off towards the north and the east. into the next couple of days more of the same of that and cooler air. look at these wind speeds. at 4:00 this afternoon, at about 20 to 25 miles an hour. so, along with the cooler temperatures, the clouds and a little bit of some rain, it will be windy, too. if you're heading out to levi stadium, keep in mind if you're tailgating peeks of sunshine and 70 degrees and by the time the game kicks off, it will be 68 degrees and 65 degrees by 9:00. we're getting a little bit of an

early taste of fall thanks to the trough that is well to the north and shifted the winds and bringing moisture and the possibility of some rain in the forecast. and then look at what happens on wednesday. when you see some green covering parts of northern california, especially for the north bay, this could bring in some more measurable rain. we're looking at today some trace amounts of showers moving through and this is what the radar could look like at 2:00 this afternoon. some green here on the east bay showing some rain moving over towards pleasanon and concord as well as parts of the north bay. we'll see a couple rounds of this light, spotty rain. clears out late tonight and early in the morning and getting ready for that next round that is moving in on wednesday. the rainfall estimates right now keep it light, especially for most of the bay area. maybe a few 0.01 and then as you head over towards the north bay, 0.03 and the farther north you are, some more measurable rain. definitely great news there, especially as we try to get that wildfire under control. heading into the weekend, warming up, once again. so, after a mild week, it is

going to be turning hot, once again. so, we're not done with summer just yet. let's check in now with the commute with mike. >> it's california. we're never done with summer. looking over here and never done with the commute, as well. west 92 and look at the slow down that is happening over the last few. from the hayward looking across to the peninsula side. look at your map on the peninsula side. 92 and a slower drive, but north of there on 101 a crash at millbrae and another one at peninsula. san mateo bridge and the sfo exit there. we're looking at 280 a much easier drive northbound which is typical through the areas can keep that in mind. anywhere north of the san mateo bridge a push up towards the bay bridge and a smoother drive. your metering lights on and nice flow of traffic. another crash affecting the off ramp, but not the freeway. so, you're okay for the upper east shore. northbound routes now beginning to build. 87 into downtown and a quick

look at palo alto. back to you. >> thanks. the new york prison worker who admitted to helping two convicted killers escape from a high-security prison is speaking out. some of what she says is mind boggling coming up in moments on "today" show. >> did you think that perhaps you were crossing some sort of a line? >> i was at first. but then i guess i guess i got a little too comfortable. >> in the interview with nbc's matt lauer joyce mitchell speaks frankly about why she decided to help them escape. goes into great detail about providing the tools for their escape and explains how her relationship with one of the men went way beyond normal. that coming up in the next hour of nbc "today" show. breaking news out of lake county. an update on the valley fire. the new numbers just into our newsroom, next. we're back with breaking news

... =scott/traffic= new numbers on the valley fire burning in napa, sonoma, and lake we're back with breaking new. new numbers on the valley fire burning in napa, sonoma and lake counties. crews say it now has grown overnight to 61,000 acres. there is some progress. 5% contained. "today in the bay" stephanie chuang is live in middleton. steph, we heard a lot of people

calling this just apocalyptic. >> we have, scott. you can see it all around me here in this neighborhood on jefferson court and it will probably feel even more so as it becomes lighter out and we get a better sense of the damage and destruction all around. but you see all the rubble here of what is left of the homes here and you just mention the new numbers. 61,000 acres now up from 50,000. but at least 5% contained up from 0. so, firefighters making some movement overnight, which is great news. this is after the valley fire tore through this town of fewer than 1,500 people at 50,000 acres in under 48 hours. cal fire saying the drought, the heat and the wind fueling all this. we're expected to also hear how many structures, homes and businesses about 400 or several 00 destroyed and expecting that to go up to 1,000. poor visibility. from the air, cal fire hasn't been able to use the choppers and air tankers as much. it will make the call this morning as it has the final plan

on how to go about fighting the valley fire. >> steph, thank you. one of the four firefighters hurt saturday showing signs of improvement. this is a picture of one of the victims, richard rife. his crew visited him yesterday at uc davis medical center. the other three injured firefighters are recovering at the sacramento area burn center, as well. >> we hope he recovers well. ambers just rained down on homes spread by gusty 30-mile-per-hour winds. in some cases little firefighter could even do. bob redell is there where some of the 10,000 evacuees have been sent. have you heard from any evacuees this morning? >> we've talked to a few. you can see many lining up for breakfast here at this red cross center at the napa county fair. grounds. a lot of them just want to know whether or not their home survived the valley fire. some have hard confirmations. others have heard rumors and others just don't know. and they won't know until tomorrow or wednesday when they are finally allowed back into

the fire zone. now, as you can see in these images, they're not going to like what they can see. places like middleton suffered a lot of damage and destruction. one evacuee and want to rebuild their community has been devastated. we're talking about a lot of small towns in the lake county area where people have lived for years and that are now barren. that's just how bad this fire has been. the destruction unheard of, according to one firefighter. just given how fast it has taken. we're talking about destruction that has taken place since saturday afternoon. so, it's only been two and a half days so far. but back out here, this is one of three evacuation centers. there's about 1,000 people. a total of 10,000 people we're told have evocuated. not all to different centers, but definitely 1,000 here at the napa county fairgrounds. if you look to your right, some people were only able to leave with whatever they had.

whether they had got in their car and now living in their rvs or their tents. and, of course, relying on donations that have been more than generous. so generous that the red cross is telling people, don't donate anything any more unless it's money. reporting live here in caulistoga, bob redell. the part has moved through part of middleton, the danger is not over. our photographers are at the scene, as well as our own nbc bay area raj mathai bringing us updates on our evening newscast, as well. we'll update our information on the digital platform with the latest. go to nbcbayarea.com. a rough sea rescue by firefighters. 54 kayakers recovering after getting stranded in marin county near the point ray station. authorities say the group was on a professionally guided tour to see luminescent light

illuminated by the water. the kayakers pedaled to hog island in pelican point where they were picked up by rescue boats. that took several hours to get all 54 kayakers to safety. two were treated for mild hypothermia. it is 6:58 and happening today. packed trains and plenty of traffic expected in the south bay with the first football game of the year. 49er season opener not only a test for the team, but also a new plan for transit officials. 70,000 fans heading to the game at the same time that many people will be heading home from work. last year, traffic was a big problem. this year, stadium officials have added lanes, as well as detailed signs to help with the flow of traffic. vta also added trains to and from the game. tonight's game against the vikings kicks off at 7:20. >> and air quality may be an issue. i know we're just down the street from levi's and it is smelly out there. >> but later on this evening when the westerly wind kicks in,

it will help clear things out as we go through the day. we may still see some smoke and ash early this morning, but it will be improving with highs today in the 60s and 70s all across the bay. much cooler than we've had recently. in napa today, 75 degrees. even a slight chance of some spotty showers in parts of the bay area today. 72 degrees in santa rosa. hayward 67 and livermore today topping out at 80 degrees. >> all right, thanks. what about that morning commute? >> a problem on the peninsula. tracking this crash over here. at first a report of a mattress in the lanes and then a crash. i'm not saying they're linked, but circumstances. north 101 right there at millbrae avenue and still have an overturned vehicle and three right lanes blocked. northbound is jammed from approaching 92 all the way towards sfo and southbound side a distraction and a fender bender there. that is a problem on the peninsula 280 is clear, though. the rest of your day starting off to a typical commute although a burst of traffic for south. 880 down hayward. as we talked about santa clara

and levi stadium. tasman will close at 9:30 this morning. >> that's the hot spot out there as well as the valley fire. we'll bring you updates and this is happening "today in the bay." >> back at 7:25 with more updates on the fire. . this morning, one person dead and 400 homes destroyed by a large and fast spreading wild fire in california. the blaze out of control as the nation guard is called in. we're live on the frontlines. double digit deficit. new poles show hillary clinton behind bernie sanders by 10 points in iowa and 22 in new hampshire. when matched against donald trump it's a dead heat. vanessa williams gets an apology